How has our energy use changed in lockdown?

For some of us it’s coming up on a year since we last did that half hour commute up the motorway to the office, poured ourselves a coffee and settled down at our desk under the fluorescent lighting. Since the first lockdown, more and more of our time is spent at home and this, unsurprisingly, affected how we use energy. So the team here have taken a look at the data and have noticed some interesting trends which we wanted to share with you.

Missing that morning rush.

One of the most interesting shifts was the changes the May lockdown brought to our morning routines. Whereas before we’d all be up and showering, preparing food, brewing a hot beverage between seven and eight in the morning, the shake-up of lockdown meant that there seemed to be less of us doing it, with less average energy use during those times compared to previous years. This also showed in the evening, where the lack of commute, or maybe just the desire to get away from our laptops, meant the evening energy use peaked earlier, as people were switching on the TV or starting to cook those sausages before they normally would.

How has that affected energy use over the year?

Whilst energy use is starting to return to normal as people settle into routines or return to work, electricity demand across the year has increased by 4%. Whilst people will see different changes to their own use, a home which is usually empty in the day and is now used for working from home could see a 20% increase in their electricity use, compared to previous years. It’s not only laptops that have bumped up energy use, as more of us are in during the cold winter days we’ve also seen an average increase of 5% gas use.

Keeping that energy use down.

Here are a couple of tips to help reduce the amount of electricity your appliances use during these lockdown times.

Cuppa sustainability.

Remember to only boil as much water as you need. A useful energy saving life hack we’ve found, is to fill your coffee mug with the water you’ll need and then pour that into the kettle to boil it. Simple.

No peeping.

It can be awfully tempting to open your oven to check how your chicken/pizza/garlic bread is doing. However by doing that, you’re letting hot air out – which your oven needs to replace. Just have trust in your timings and you’ll be fine. Want to get that energy feel-good with 100% renewable electricity?* Switch to us today.